FASTJET ANNOUNCES INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2014

Strong growth in first half passenger numbers and new international routes launched

30 September 2014 - fastjet, the low cost African airline, announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014 and operational highlights of 2014 to date.

Financial highlights

·         Tanzania first-half revenues grew 96% to $19.0 million, with a 41.5% increase in passenger numbers.

·         Tanzanian average revenue per passenger for the period grew 39.3% to $81.65.

·         First-half underlying EBIT loss of $30.5 million, including US$13.9 million trading losses in the Tanzanian operation.

·         Fly540 Ghana and Angola had a $13.5 million adverse effect on the first half financial results of which $6.4 million related to a foreign exchange revaluation adjustment of US Dollar liabilities, and during the period under review, less than $100,000 of fastjet Plc cash was utilised in legacy Fly540 operations.

Operational highlights

·         Flights successfully launched from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Lusaka (Zambia) February 2014, from Dar es Salaam to Harare (Zimbabwe) August 2014 and from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe (Uganda) launched September 2014.

·         Fly540 Ghana and Fly540 Angola loss-making services remain suspended, with restructuring activity underway.

·         The Group disposed of its investment in Five Forty Aviation Limited (Kenya) in June 2014.

·         fastjet Tanzania aircraft utilisation increased from 5.5 hours to 7.9 hours per aircraft per day during the period and reached 9.9 hours per aircraft per day by the end of August, on track to achieve the target of 11.5 hours.

·         fastjet Tanzania punctuality averaged an excellent 90% (arrival within 15 minutes) during the period.

·         A variety of additional revenue streams were added to the business mix during the period - including car rentals, hotels and car parking.

fastjet's CEO and Interim Chairman, Ed Winter, commented:

"We are delighted to have seen a steady increase in the number of passengers travelling on core Tanzanian routes, with revenue growth of 96% against the same period last year. Strong underlying traffic growth in the first half of 2014 continues to demonstrate that fastjet's low-cost airline model works in the African market. This growth in traffic underpins our belief that people across Africa are increasingly embracing the travel opportunities offered by fastjet's safe, reliable, and great value product, with a high percentage of first time flyers.

"Additional services from our Tanzanian base in Dar es Salaam to Lusaka, Harare and Entebbe, linking these land-locked countries to the port of Dar es Salaam, have proven successful and are performing well.  Although these routes are in their infancy, there is every indication that these will develop into valuable routes for the fastjet Tanzania pan-African network.  Prior to these routes being launched there were no direct air services linking Dar es Salaam with either Harare or Entebbe.

"During the period, we added additional revenue streams to the business mix including car rentals, hotels and car parking and early indications suggest that these services are proving popular with our customers. fastjet continues on its path of expansion, leveraging our first mover advantage to the benefit of our customers and shareholders."

Click here to access the full Group interim financial statements

Tribeca Public Relations